AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- The fight over mask mandates at local school districts across Central Texas continues to rage, with at least two Eanes ISD teachers facing abuse from parents.
Superintendent Dr. Tom Leonard, in a letter to the Eanes community, said there were several "magical" moments in the first days of the new school year, with students excited to see friends and teachers again.
"Regrettably," Leonard continued, "there have been a few sad moments, too."
According to Leonard, one teacher was physically assaulted by a parent ripping a mask off of her face, and another teacher was yelled at by several parents who couldn't hear her through a face mask.
"This type of behavior will not be tolerated in Eanes ISD," said Leonard. "Our staff are on the front lines of this pandemic; let’s give them some space and grace. Please, I am asking everyone to be kind...do not fight mask wars in our schools."
Eanes ISD joined several other Austin-area school districts in implementing a mask mandate, in contrast to Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order barring local districts and other governmental entities from enforcing mask mandates. That executive order became enjoined by a temporary restraining order issued late Sunday in the 345th Travis County Judicial District Court by Judge Jan Soifer.
However, in a statement Tuesday afternoon, Eanes officials backed off of enforcing the mask mandate. "When read carefully, the mask mandate is problematic," the district's statement reads. "Its method of enforcement relies solely on individual self-regulation. Therefore, Eanes ISD will highly encourage masks as the CDC recommends and per the Travis County Order, we will mandate masks; however, that same County Order states that we have no legal methods to enforce the wearing of masks. We will not make our staff the 'mask police' with no authority to enforce the rule."
The district says, regardless of the legal results, it will follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, which “recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.”